The requirements are staggering. The sheer number of SKUs is huge and continues to grow each year. Product line expansions, driven by regional preferences, new products, regulatory changes, demographic shifts and even pop culture, create an ever-increasing array of packaging variations.

The growing number of product choices posts challenges - and opportunities - for manufacturers of flexible packaging. According to research firm Global Industry Analysts, the global flexible packaging market will reach over $70 billion by 2015. To satisfy that level of demand, flexible packaging companies will need to be innovative partners with their customers. They need to develop systems and processes which can be adaptable enough to meet these changing requirements and at the same time address the consumers’ needs and preferences. Doing so requires development of countless shapes and sizes of packages, high-performance materials, new graphic capabilities, convenience features and package formats in even shorter production cycles.

So what does this mean for a manufacturing company? Even though consumers may pull back their spending when economic times get tough, you can’t stop investing in innovation to develop products which meet their demands for today and tomorrow. Many companies drastically reduced capital spending into and through the recession. According to Global Industry Analysts, more than 55 percent of U.S. packaging firms reduced their capital expenditures in 2009. Our company, Exopack, took a very different tack during the recent market downturn with an eye to growing the business and increasing market share.

Exopack made a strategic decision to invest over $135 million in recent years to build out printing, extrusion and converting assets while also upgrading and streamlining manufacturing capabilities. In addition to hard assets, we invested in new information technology systems that have enabled us to more quickly and effectively service our customers. This was not a capacity expansion strategy but one which allows us to better meet the changing needs of the marketplace. As economic factors improve, we will be ready to respond quickly and with novel packaging solutions.

So will consumers recognize this commitment to excellence during their normal shopping excursions? According to IPG Media Lab, 74 percent of shoppers say the package is a critical element to making a final product selection. Whether the product attracts their attention on the retail shelf because they recognize a favorite, trustworthy brand or a unique package format that may make their life easier, they are looking at the package.